The Promise of Spring

Who doesn't look forward to spring? But this year, I needed it.

After Helene, the loss of so much by so many—unthinkable! Thousands of trees—they say 40% of the hardwoods in our county! Homes, habitats, lives, roads… Debris and silt and deadwood everywhere, scars of flood and landslide slashing across the places you love. Then drought, winds, and wildfires… Yes, I “knew” spring would come, but I had trouble believing it. I needed to see it, feel it, drink it in.

Now, it’s here, and I’m reassured. It’s bringing some joy, some calm to my soul.

Sadly, catastrophe leaves its mark around the globe. It was ever so, but it’s more so now. Most humans come together to pick up the pieces and put life back in order, while a few bad actors seem bent on maximizing destruction to their own greedy ends. It feels like they are in the ascendancy right now.

My country, beautiful and imperfect, is experiencing unthinkable political catastrophe. Alliances, laws, lives, traditions are smashed down around us. Like Helene, we did see it coming, though we might not have known how quickly things would deteriorate. We did what we could to prepare, and we do what we can to stand strong, but it’s overwhelming in the moment. We cry “No!” in disbelief, our eyes wide in horror.

I hold out hope that reason, ethics, and the rule of law will return, that a culture of kindness, intelligence, and generosity will continue to bloom, and that the US may once more stand as a beacon of hope, friendship, and democratic values.

Seasons change. I need to believe it is so.